


All is as I have foreseen

by Aquilea



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Spoiler for the ending of SW Rebels, Tarkin tries to stay in the Emperor's good books, Thrawn's usefulness is discussed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:04:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13938312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquilea/pseuds/Aquilea
Summary: After Lothal has fallen, Grand Moff Tarkin is not sure what exactly happened. Having been called to Coruscant to meet with the Emperor he learns an important lesson and vows not to make the same mistake as Thrawn or Krennic.





	All is as I have foreseen

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to explore the Emperor's reaction to the events at Lothal and used Tarkin as a medium. The Emperor's downfall, in my eyes, was his reliance on the accuracy of his visions and his power. The believe that - when all is said and done - he cannot fail. So for me, Lothal would have to have had some sort of silver lining to him and was not a downright catastrophe. Otherwise he might perhaps have been more inclined to move against all opposition and wipe them out. Instead, he allowed events to progress and we all know what the end result was. 
> 
> First time I am writing Tarkin... Let me know what you think. :-)

The Imperial Palace on Coruscant was always an impressive sight, like a beacon of pure, distilled power right in the Empire’s core. Approaching by shuttle, Grand Moff Tarkin was gazing at it absentmindedly, musing about the events of recent days and how they might affect the future. For surely they must have an affect - the Empire with all its might, all its power and control suffering a defeat, a humiliation of unprecedented scale by the hand of this pitiful rabble on Lothal. Governor Pryce, the entire garrison, Seventh Fleet as well as Grand Admiral Thrawn - all gone in the course of a single day. And what had actually happened was confusing. He had a handful of agents on the ground but their reports were just too wild to be believed. Space-faring creatures that could take out Star Destroyers, that had supposedly made most of Thrawn’s fleet just disappear - surely that was far too incredible to be believed.

Yet the fleet was gone and there had been no reports of any major fleet operations by the so-called Rebel Alliance. Indeed, as far as Tarkin was concerned they did not even have a fleet worth of that name. A collection of ships, yes, but since the destruction of two of their cells on Atollon their activities had been small-scale and uncoordinated. They were simply not capable of taking on a mission as daunting as a direct attack on Thrawn’s fleet at Lothal, even if the Grand Admiral himself had been away at the start of it. To take on and destroy several Star Destroyers would have required a force the Rebel Alliance simply did not possess. And however crafty and lucky the rebels’ Lothal branch around Hera Syndulla and her two, no one, Jedi were, surely they could not have done all this just with their one lousy ship?

The ground attack was far easier for Tarkin to understand - and this was something that would definitely have consequences across the Empire if he had any influence on the matter. Clearly, standards of operational readiness had been far less than acceptable under Arihnda Pryce. If she had not perished with the rest of the occupation force when the Imperial dome exploded she would not have remained Governor - or alive - for very much longer. Just as well he had buried his own involvement in getting her that post a long time ago.

No, Pryce could and would be conveniently blamed for the destruction of the dome and the removal of Lothal from the Empire’s grasp. But how could Thrawn have failed on such an enormous scale as well? For a failure it was, his entire task force wiped out in one fell swoop. Thrawn’s enemies in High Command had always said he would overreach one day and that his alienness was going to lead to ruin. Yet Tarkin believed otherwise. Thrawn was different, undeniably so, but in a way that had so far been of constant benefit to the Empire, whether his detractors wanted to accept it or not. Whatever else he was, reckless or careless he was not. Pryce he could do without - there were so many hungry, ruthless politicians, ready to do pretty well anything to get into a position of power. Her role was easy to fill with somebody else. But Thrawn, now that was a different matter entirely. His disinterest, naivety even, in anything to do with politics had made him eminently useful to Tarkin, on top of his obvious strategic and tactical talent. As long as one did not force the man to act against his own code of honor he could be a wonderful tool.

As his shuttle finally landed in the Emperor’s own docking bay, Tarkin brought his considerations to an end and stood. He was keen to learn what the Emperor was willing to add to the mystery and what their next steps regarding Lothal and the wider Empire should be. It simply did not do for rumors to spread about what had or had not happened on that backwater world. Tarkin had even had to discover that members of his own crew were almost openly speculating whether or not this meant the Empire had lost a bit of its edge! The crewers in question were now doing guard duty on Kessel and as far as he was aware that had ended any discussion of the subject, at least in his own area of influence. But who knew what the average trooper in other, more remote areas were thinking? At the very least it should inspire their commanders to increase vigilance.

Gazing at the Emperor’s Guard, controlling the coming and going in this area of the palace, Tarkin nodded to himself. Here, at least, vigilance was never something to be questioned. He had been to the Imperial Palace countless times but upon each visit he was subjected to the same rigorous procedure before finally being allowed into the presence of Emperor Palpatine himself. No chance of rebel infiltration here.

As on every other occasion, the Emperor was sitting on his throne, unmoving, his face not sharing anything of his thoughts or emotions. The very picture of calm, control and - above all - limitless power.

“Your Majesty,” Tarkin said, bowing before Palpatine, only raising again when Palpatine waved one of his hands almost carelessly.  
“Grand Moff Tarkin, thank you for your prompt visit,” the Emperor acknowledged him. So far it was all routine. What followed, was not. Shifted his gaze from Tarkin to the guard nearest to him, Palpatine motioned to one of the side doors.  
“Leave us, the Grand Moff and I are not to be disturbed,” he commanded.  
The guard nodded once, then he and his companions left them alone.

“I presume, Grand Moff,” Palpatine continued once they were alone, “you are wondering whether I have called you here with regards to the events on Lothal. Quite extraordinary, really. Yet somehow also satisfactory.” His face showed the ghost of smile.

“Satisfactory, your Majesty?” Tarkin asked. That was quite unexpected.

“Indeed,” Palpatine replied. “You see, the conclusion on Lothal has tied up two loose ends for me - and one for you, I believe.” He looked Tarkin in the eye and his expression became even more kindly - which made even Tarkin feel more on edge than he already had been.

“I suppose you speak of Governor Pryce?” It was the only thing he could think of and her death had, in fact, spared him from finding a way to get rid of the woman. Thrawn had been beyond himself (compared to his usual cool composure) when she had basically single-handedly destroyed his plans for the TIE Defender project.

“Yes, Arihnda Pryce, one of your pet governors, Grand Moff,” the Emperor continued. “Don’t deny it, I know you used her to get at one of your rivals. I also know that you had come to the conclusion for quite a while now that she had served her purpose and was no longer useful. Indeed, I had looked forward to watching how you were going to play her. Well, that is no longer an issue.”

“Indeed not, my Emperor,” Tarkin confirmed. “Although that is a rather small consolation compared to what we have lost with Lothal’s independence.”

“Temporary independence, my friend,” Palpatine replied. “Let them enjoy their success and revel in a false sense of achievement. It will make it all the more rewarding to witness their eventual destruction. Unbeknownst to them they have just provided us with a convenient target once Director Krennic’s project Stardust is operational.”

He paused in thought.

“Actually,” he continued, “I think we should let them see the power of our new weapon displayed on another target first, so they can fully experience the fear of their impending death. There is nothing on Lothal now that holds my interest.”

Tarkin nodded, this was not unexpected. “I agree, your Majesty, the Death Star would be the just response to such a treasonous act.” He paused, Palpatine had said there was nothing on Lothal that held his interest, not the Empire’s. What had made this planet so special? Tarkin knew better than to ask, though. If the Emperor wanted to share information he would do so, one did not ask for it just out of curiosity. Instead, he returned to the beginning of their conversation.

“And what, if I may be so bold,” Tarkin continued, “were your two loose ends you were referring to?”

“Why, the removal of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn from our future considerations of course.” the Emperor replied with a mock smile, as if that had been obvious.

“Thrawn? But your Majesty, surely you do not imply he was in any way in league with these rebels.”

Palpatine gave a short, cackling laugh - a bone-chilling sound.  
“No, certainly not. Although in time, who knows. Our Grand Admiral had a very tight set of moral standards that might have become at odds with some of our future plans.” His face became serious again and his view focused on somewhere beyond Tarkin.  
“I have watched the proceedings on Lothal for a long time. The local resistance was… intriguing to me. The Jedi are gone from the Galaxy as you know but here and there some of their disciples appear. I have known for a long time that Ezra Bridger had to be removed for my plans - for the Empire to succeed.”

Tarkin raised an eyebrow and the Emperor looked at him again.  
“I know you are sceptical about the remaining influence of the Force, Tarkin,” Palpatine chided, “even though you should know better given your own experience with the very same Jedi a few years ago.”

Tarkin nodded in acknowledgement but chose to remain silent, waiting for the Emperor to continue.

“Be that as it may,” Palpatine gave him another look before continuing, “Kanan Jarrus, the more experienced force wielder of the two, was never going to be a danger to us; I have foreseen his death and so it came to pass. Ironically, by the hand of your pet governor, Grand Moff.” Palpatine smiled in his humourless way at Tarkin again. But then his look turned annoyed, verging on angry. In other words, dangerous.

“Ezra Bridger, on the other hand, has proven far more troublesome than I had once thought. You are aware Darth Vader had an encounter with him and Jarrus not so long ago? They proved no match, of course, but I am afraid I underestimated the potential the young Bridger had in him.”

Tarkin could almost feel the hairs on his neck stand up. The Emperor was not one to admit failure easily - a reason for anyone to become even more watchful in his presence. Palpatine did not look kindly upon contradiction or opposition; Tarkin was going to tread careful lest the Emperor’s ire turned on him. Even though Tarkin hated having to appear submissive, he was far too clever a politician to know when to acquiesce to a higher authority. So he remained outwardly calm, collected and above all respectful.

Palpatine nodded again, as if Tarkin had passed some secret test. Perhaps he had.

“Bridger managed to thwart my plans on Lothal. I shall not trouble you with the details, Grand Moff. Suffice it to say that he proved himself a worthy successor to the outdated code of honor the Jedi Masters of old followed so strictly.” His tone made it clear he did not think of this as anything remotely praiseworthy.

“It was then that I realised he was going to become a threat to my Empire if he remained at large. But something in our encounter must have scared him because he then proceeded to just… disappear.”

“Disappear?” Tarkin asked. “So the reports are true? That he was not amongst the rebels who remained on Lothal?”

“Indeed, he has passed from the Empire.” Palpatine looked very pleased. “And he had the good grace to take Thrawn along with him. Assuming he did not kill him of course. Which would make no difference to me incidentally.”

Tarkin looked questioningly at the Emperor. “If I may, this is the second time you refer to the loss of Grand Admiral Thrawn as a positive outcome. Yet I profess I do not understand why that might be.”

Palpatine smiled. “Same as your Governor Pryce, in a way, Thrawn had outlived his usefulness to me. Or at the very least his main reason for being in my circle of advisors. You are aware of his extensive knowledge of the Unknown Regions of course. Over the past years he has been providing us with information - information that shall prove invaluable once we turn our eyes to that part of the Galaxy. Beyond that he was, of course, a most able strategist and has given us success on many occasions. But despite his many years in the Empire and his pledge to me personally, he still kept holding on to some old-fashioned code of behaviour. Rules for the true warrior, if you will.” Palpatine used the same mocking tone with which he had spoken of Ezra Bridgers’ adherence to the Jedi code.

“When I made him Grand Admiral he asked me about the purpose of the Death Star,” he mentioned almost casually.

This time Tarkin could not help his facial reaction. He was surprised and it showed, albeit briefly.  
“I was not aware that Thrawn had been part of the group who know about the Death Star.”

“He was not,” Palpatine replied. “He somehow deduced its existence, even though he did not quite grasp what its capabilities - or purpose - were. I managed to allay his fears at the time, but from that moment on I knew he would prove dangerous to us when it became time to activate project Stardust. A moment which, despite Director Krennic’s repeated delays, is not far away.”

Palpatine leaned back in his chair, his previous anger had disappeared and he now seemed outright pleased.

“I had started to wonder what to do with Thrawn once the Lothal situation had been resolved. But as it turns out, young Bridger removed this worry for us. I detest wasting useful resources, but Thrawn would have had to go eventually. Given his ties with ISB’s Yularen - and yourself, Grand Moff, I might add - having him detained and executed might have raised unwanted questions. Instead, we can openly mourn the loss of such a faithful servant to the Empire.”

Another cackle laugh. “So now, Grand Moff, you understand my pleasure with the situation on Lothal.”

His face turned serious and threatening once more. “Which does not mean, of course, that I shall forgive or forget the incompetence and treason involved in this operation. The ISB has been advised to liquidate the branch responsible for the Lothal sector for gross negligence. Clearly, they did not fulfil their duties, otherwise they would have advised Grand Admiral Thrawn of the forces which eventually led to his defeat.”

It occurred to Tarkin that he had yet to be told what those ominous forces actually were. As far as he was aware - and his own intelligence sources were probably as reliable as those of the ISB - whatever had taken out Thrawn had come out of nowhere and surprised everyone, even the Grand Admiral himself. Thrawn was not someone to rely on outside reports in any case. So the punishment of some hapless ISB agents probably was no more than window dressing. Did that mean the Emperor did not know what had happened, either? Unlikely. But the alternative, that he did know but was not prepared to share that information was somehow worse for Tarkin. So was whatever had defeated Thrawn of no danger to anyone else? Did Ezra Bridger, not much more than a boy, possess somehow the power - the Force - to make an entire fleet disappear? Even more preposterous.

The politician in Tarkin took control, this was not a time to question the Emperor’s words.

“Just punishment, your Majesty,” he said instead, voice as cool and respectful as ever.  
“In addition, might I suggest garrison commanders be under special observation from now on to ensure their forces observe the operational readiness expected of them? It is obvious Lothal’s ground command team were severely lacking in their duties if they allowed a small band of rebels to take control of the Imperial dome and orchestrate the destruction of our orbital forces.”

He paused briefly, considering. “I have been made aware Bridger had some ties to the terrorist Saw Gerrera. The rebels’ decision to destroy the Imperial dome without allowing anyone to escape could easily be connected to some of Gerrera’s recent terrorist acts. And an act like that could not have happened without the implicit collaboration of the planet’s population. Or a significant part thereof.”

It was Tarkin’s turn to give a cruel smile. “This way, the Death Star will be Lothal’s just deserts.”

Palpatine nodded, matching Tarkin’s smile. “I quite agree, Grand Moff. I knew we would understand each other. There is, however, one further requirement I have of you.”

“Name it, your Majesty.” Tarkin replied.

“Director Krennic, he is not progressing as he should. I know you are keeping an eye on him. Continue to do so. Alas, I do not see him as the man who should ultimately be in command of such a project. When the time is right, I want you, Grand Moff, to relieve him of his duties. He places too much weight on his own importance. He has done his duty which I will remain grateful for of course.”

In other words, thought Tarkin, he had served his purpose, like Thrawn, and was now expendable. Which made this entire conversation a very veiled threat and a warning. Once he lost his value to the Emperor - not the Empire, the Emperor - his life would be forfeit. Tarkin vowed he would not make the same mistake. He had so much more to give - and take.

He bowed, “It shall be as you wish, Emperor. Once we have proven its capabilities the Death Star will quash any resistance.”

“Good, good.” The Emperor appeared once again pleased. “And with Bridger gone, the rebellious forces have no new hope to focus on, forever doomed to remain an uncoordinated rabble. All is as I have foreseen.”


End file.
